Czech T-Mobile Sold 5,000 iPhones Since Local Launch

Published on: 3rd Sep 2008

Note -- this news article is more than a year old.

PRAGUE (Dow Jones) T Mobile Czech Republic, a Czech unit of Deutsche Telekom's, Thursday said it has sold more than 5,000 iPhones and expects all three local cellular operators to sell some 50,000 Apple smart phone units by year end.

Local T-Mobile along with its two major local competitors, Czech units of
Telefonica and Vodafone Group, launched iPhone sales Aug. 22 amid a U.S.-style
marketing fanfare, uncommon in central Europe, which included opening their
branded stores at midnight.

T-Mobile Czech Republic's spokeswoman Martina Kemrova said sales figures were
in line with expectations.

"In the Czech Republic Vodafone has sold over 5,000 iPhones,"
company's spokesman Filip Hruby said. "We expect to sell a few tens of
thousands by the year-end."

Hruby declined to comment on the local iPhone marketing campaign but a person
close to the company said the product's launch had been excessive.

"Although iPhone sales are slightly higher than other types of smart
phones, they are very small despite heavy marketing because Czechs aren't used
to this kind of hype," the person said.

O2, a leading local cellular operator and a unit of Telefonica, said it
doesn't unveil iPhone sales data.

Local media said far iPhone sales by local mobile operators are dwarfed by
several tens of thousands of earlier-generation iPhones bought unofficially by
local customers before Aug. 22 via gray imports from the U.S.